Ranges all over South Africa are built using old tyres filled with sand and they're extremely safe. Some of them are decades old and still trucking on.
From experience of working in a shooting range with a tyre backstop, yes, the tires can rarely "spit" the bullets back towards us, it heavily depends on how used up the tires are, however the energy and speed they carry is insanely negligible. Its pretty much perfectly safe in our case, as the shooting line is usually farther than the distance the projectiles can come back. Speed of the bullets that come back is like if I would have softly tossed them. (Mind you this is with OUR type of backstop setup.) Edit: Might have not finished the video when typing the comment out, Ziga did explain basicly what i did now too :,)
Yup, we have the same experience. At the beginning when we first saw a fired bullet on the floor next to the shooters, we got worried. It took some time but we figured that the bullets coming back have no energy and after seeing one sliding back towards us, we picked it up and it was cold and had some oxidation on it. So we figured that most of the bullets that are "coming back" are actually previously fired bullets that got caught in the tire and the next bullet dislodged it
Considering it having been constructed so cost-effectively, that’s quite an effective looking indoor range. I of course loved the alternative units of measurement used, too! 🤣
that`s a pretty decent range. Over here in Brazil my local range uses empty tires and I had a couple o bullets bounce back and hit me but it was nothing serious, it felt like someone threw a pebble at me. Something some ranges do here is put wooden logs in front of the hard backstop to avoid that and they work wonders
Bowling pins and bird shot. Ouch. We made that mistake setting up a match once. Several people there got stung by ricochet at some point, mostly spectators behind and to the side of the shooter in the staging area. There was a fly crawling around on my gear with only one wing. He was the only casualty.
Cant deny im bit jealous from that nice indoor range. Only range we have for free use is public outdoor range with shitty claythrower. There are smaller shooting pockets for tactical usage but in wintertime we mostly just use that 100m long range and truck pallets to hang targets. Cant leave nothing there because everything will be shot or stolen if it is not bolted on ground. Otherwise okay range but wintertimes are bit annoying because it is bit nature side and if it have been snowing you should have 4x4 with good ground clearance if want to be sure to get in destination and home whitout getting stuck. But it is free to use with only limitations of some clocktimes how early and how late you can shoot because neighbors who live near.
Thanks. I was wondering if I should fill the tires or tie the tires and fill behind them. If you stack up some of your tires around your generator and fill them with sand so that all the sound it going up, it will be a lot more pleasant for you.
As always, what a great video. Really informative, funny, and well made. You guys are the best!!!! Im about to set up my own small range and thisbhas given me some great ideas. Once again, thanks.
In The Revolution; the defenders of Fort Moultrie (Charleston Harbour, SC.) Used beach sand and palmetto logs* to defeat The Royal Navy. *Shifting sand bars in the waters around that island were helpful, too.😁
that cleaning machine is sometimes referred to as a zamboni, the riding ones are awesome. so relaxing to clean a big hanger floor with them, one of my favorite task in the airforce idk why xD
Take a few stacks of those empty tires and make a small "soundproof" room for your generator. Looks like you have enough room, just need a makeshift door.
I am sure the council would have visited and checked regulations as the range probably has to be licenced. Our rangers in Austria and Czechia are often in deep cellars and it's really important there.
@@PolenarTactical Isn't it dangerous to stand next to the tires for extended periods without wearing a respirator? US indoor ranges require employees to wear respirators when cleaning downrange.
We used to stack up tires in the old gravel pit by my house and burn that tire piles into a dirt pile with a flat face and they would last for decades. Hundreds of thousands of rounds. The entire county shoots there and they still make the backstop out of tires in a dirt pile
I would love to build a nice indoor shooting range like this and start a shooting club. Would probably be the only way to afford the maintenance on the thing 😂
A guy i knew had to have a 38 special slug removed from his leg...it was a ricochet off of a tire...sorry, i can't tell the particular details, this was 30 years ago...it might have been how you described it...what i remember though, is that he said it bounced off of the tire...it may have been like a farm tractor tire though...i don't know... Anyway, as always, this was a super cool video, and i really appreciate you going through this...very useful/helpful info. Thank you.
With no sound insulation on the walls, the reverb must be incredible. The ventilation system leaves a tremendous amount to be desired. One fan alone would not generate the necessary CFM for proper air flow.
No such thing as an overbuilt backstop. 😉 Especially when there's no telling what else you will drag in there... Double up the earpro (plugs and muffs); the echos sound savage. Given all the rounds fired, have you ever considered reclaiming the bullets in the backstop for recycling the metals?
Here's an idea how to get rid of your generator noise: Last couple months the solar industry is imploding thanks to rising interest rates, so prices have come down significantly. You can put up a couple PV panels, an 48V battery system and hook it up to a Victron ESS to run your own micro-grid for not much more than a decend generator cost. Silent, hassle-free, expandable to whatever size you need and no pain in the ass fuel storage, generator maintenance, startup problems... And if you want to get real fancy, you could go for the Victron Quatro instead of Multiplus and have your regular generators automatically tied in to charge the batteries when your stored energy is running low and there isn't enough sun to keep up with your energy needs (rainy days, winter, you get the idea).
Jep the thing with the ricochet is most likely true, Matt form Demolitionranch has a video where he deviates the path of a 45 ACP with PVC Pipe, it's crazy.
If you guys haven't already, would suggest first aid kit just in case any accident happens like for example a -kentucky- bad ammo incident since the range is secluded
True But actually the biggest lead contamination comes from primers - so lead-free primers would make a big difference but are expensive Some of our member already reload with lead-free primers already and their lead levels in blood went way down
But leadfree ammo is usually so much more expensive to not make it exacly valid option for common shooter who is already struggling with ammo prices. So i would prefer normal ammo and improvised targets instead of expensive special ammo and steel targets.
You should surround the generator with a u shaped wall of tires with opening facing away from the building and see if that helps with the noise inside the building
If it doesn’t have enough power to exit the back side u would think it wouldn’t have enough power to come back through the entry side and come back at you!! Idk how true that is about a bullet and tire but anything is possible but idk if that’s one.
You can definitely skip pistol rounds off of tires, but they get gripped by the rubber and pick up an additional spin that curves the ricochet back towards the original direction the bullet was fired toward, +/-. It's not the safest thing in the world, but it's doubtful they'd head back towards the firing line. I shot the side of a tire laying flat on the ground from a 45° angle, and it kicked up sand as if the bullet went through the tire in a strait line. Upon close examination though, there were no bullet holes left in the sidewall or tread. I was then able to dig up intact bullets in the sand where they impacted the ground, 6-12 inches down. Pretty interesting, and good to know if you ever had to try and stop a car; use a rifle unless you're running a FN Five-seveN.
Is that a suicide cable back feed at 8:45? Looks like you made a male-male extension cord to back feed the building? I'm an electrician and can tell from the covers on the outlet
I’ve been working on one of these for years Lol you should REALLY set a camera up close to the range/target so people can see how minimal the damage is. Hopefully that made sense? Haha 😂
Are you going to do anything for reducing the sound levels and echoes? Like maybe hanging cloths from the wall or attaching those foam egg carton looking things to the walls? Concrete walls will make the sound of a gun shot quite uncomfortable in a short time even with hearing protection being worn
No It would be too expensive to install a functioning sound insulation. For anything over .22lr, 9mm or suppressed rifle you need to double up on ear pro
I hope to meet y'all in person someday y'all crack me up and I'll never spell Lapua correct again I now own a 338lappuah LMAO mamma says it's close enough
The main reason is noise - if people living nearby start to complain about the noise and get official involved, we could have a lot of issues or they could even close the shooting range down. By having it indoors the sound dampened and everyone is happy. We would definitely prefer an outdoor shooting range but the biggest issue is finding a proper place that would be safe and far enough from people
Velocity of a bullet is very different. But as a kid I once shot a air rifle on a inflated tire and that pellet nearly hit me. I heard the crack besides my ear, scared the shit outa me then 😂
The lead from the bullets isnt an issue. Even lead dust is not that dangerous because it's a solid and cant disolve in water. That's why lead pipes werent an issue. The real danger are lead compounds that are created from burning the primer - those can be inhaled and absorbed in your lungs
But if the bullet is a solid and cant desolve with water, how you be able to wash it of your hands? Wont the skin absorb it too? I use dlead wipes after shooting to prevent this. @@PolenarTactical
@@rifraf905 d-leads are good, i also used them every time. Do you have any of those lead testers? If you try shooting ammo with copper bullets (so no lead core) and then use a tester on your hands, it will show lead. It comes from the primers, not the bullet (unless you're shooting bare lead cast bullets...) Lead will not dissolve in water, it can only get picked up by a detergent and rinsed by water. This is how anti-lead wipes and soap work. But yeah, touching stuff on a shooting range is still bad - you need to always clean your hands
@@PolenarTactical no i havnt lead Testers. i have a seperate pair of clothes for the ranch and use d lead Wipes on my hands and guns After shooting. Im about to change my ammo to leadfree (inkl. Lead free primer) but its much more expensive then normal ammo :( and also not much available in Switzerland Right now. Do you clean Your belt / plate carrier or can you leave it somewhere where the contamination isnt crutial as lets say in Your homes closet? ;)
@@rifraf905 honestly i havent really thought about that in any serious way until we got a baby... Now im more worried and will have to change some of my old habits
A good setup.... though I can't help but feel you need more ventilation. I've been to smaller ranges with more ventilation and it often isn't enough when there are many shooters all firing in a short period of time.
I never seen it happen but got a lot of warnings from local shooters and also people from all around the world commenting on our videos. We still use empty tires in some areas to eliminated ricochets if accidentally hit but we try to avoid shooting at empty tires just in case. Better to be safe than sorry 😅
@@PolenarTactical Yes absolutely! I haven’t had a round come back on me….that I know of any way. 😳 Lol I’m going to just go ahead and fill them in though just to make damn sure.
